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No Camping

Lycian Way without camping

Some
of the Lycian Way without camping

For
me, the Lycian ruins are the main attraction of the region, but
certainly the
sea and mountains are very beautiful.So
I will suggest that you spend your time amongst the ruins!The
mountains though
are difficult, but not impossible, to do without camping.

Please
note that there is more accommodation available along the Lycian Way
now.
Please check first.

WALKING:

We
averaged 20 kilometers per day, which is considered "fast".I think that translates as the terrain is fairly difficult.The kilometers don't mean much anyway.We normally walked 10 - 12 hours per day when camping, and
aimed to get
into the towns by midday.

If
you are very fit and travel lightly, you could cut about 25-30% off
these times,
but that doesn’t allow for much smelling of the flowers.

ACCOMMODATION
& FOOD:

The
“villages” are not always occupied.Some
are abandoned because there is no longer water; some are used only
seasonally by
the shepherds.The
Lycian Trail
follows the traditional migratory paths in places so you will walk
through
villages, but do not depend on obtaining food and accommodation there.You will not find meat, cheese, bread, vegetables, milk,
honey etc in any
village store as the locals produce their own.The Turks are incredibly friendly and generous though and
you
would not be turned away from a private house.The opposite - if you accept every invitation you would
get nowhere!

The
main towns will have Guest Houses; some even have Hotels!If you want to stay anywhere except at the main towns, you
should take a
down sleeping bag (and maybe a ThermaRest).A sleeping bag will allow you much more flexibility along
the Way,
without the weight of a tent or cooking equipment.I recommend that you take one.

WEATHER:

It
can be cold at night, especially in the mountains, depending on the
time of
year.Bring warm
clothes in you
want to go into the mountains.

The
Way is not all coastal.If
you
download the planning maps, you can get an idea of the approximate
altitudes
(show elevations in 250 meter intervals), and thus
temperatures.

PERSONAL
FAVORITE PLACES:

These
were some highlights (in order of the Way, not importance).Personal favorites bolded.

Faralya
(George House – tree house, traditional Turkish food)

Sidyma
(Ruins, fair skinned people) - but not as good as other places for ruins

Patara
(Ruins, nice coastal village.Good food) (Note from Patara you can take a bus back
to Kalkan – the Way is not that exciting)

Bezirgan
(Pretty mountain village.It
would be possible to stay in a house here.)

Phellos
(Ruins.We very
much liked this, although others were disappointed.

Kas
(Nice coastal town – all facilities)

Liman
Agazi (by boat from Kas – lovely boat ride, but the next section of the
Way is difficult)

Aperlae
(Ruins)

Inlet
opposite Aperlae (Here is a restaurant - you can sleep on the roof, and
enjoy traditional Turkish food.You
can also be taken by boat to Ucagiz)

Ucagiz
(Ruins Ruins!You
can spend a couple of days here and take a boat tour to the sunken city
[Kekova Island] and Simena – most impressive.Must see.

Sura
(We slept in the ruins)

Myra
(Famous ruins)

The
next section is mountainous, demanding.It is the place (Yayla) of traditional summer
migration of the goat herders with their animals.

Belos
(Fantastic ruins!My
favorite, but difficult to get to.If you want to miss the previous section, you could go
by bus from Myra to Finike and walk back from there.)

Lighthouse
(Great night camping beside the light house, French built about 1920) The
next section to Adrasan is difficult.

Nice
beach at Adrasan.

Olympos
(Ruins – famous.These
are different ruins [Roman].Worth
seeing.You can
spend two nights here and go up to the flames at Chimaera; well worth
it.If you don't go
to the lighthouse, you can take a bus(s) from Finike to Olympos.)

From
Olympos on there are no more ruins, except at Phaselis, but we did not
go that way.

In
the mountains, at Beycik and Gedeleme, there is fresh trout to be eaten.

Tahtali
Dagi is a fairly easy climb, but remote and cold.The weather can be bad too.

SUGGESTED
ITINERARY:

(Non-walking
sections bolded)

It
is possible to get from Fethyie to Kalkan without camping with some
long walking
days.Follow the
Way as we did except:

Stay
at Faralya (George House – tree house, traditional Turkish food.Ask for a take away lunch for the next day.)You might be able to get a boat from Fethyie and climb up
the Butterfly
Valley, which would be great.You
will need a sleeping bag, I think.But
maybe they have blankets – you can check with them (also re boat from
Fethiye):

Ask
around in Bogazici to stay in a private house (might need a sleeping
bag &
Thermarest).

Instead
of camping on the Pydnai beach, you could stay at a place just past
Gauvuragili,
before Pydnai.(Looks
like a hotel
- advertises beer and hot water!It's
in Kate's updates).There
is
nothing much in Gauvuragili itself, but you might
be able to put up in a
house there.Also
the water is hard
to find – ask around if there is anyone there.(Otherwise hitch to Xanthos).

Xanthos
is a small, scruffy town, but there is accommodation.Imagine walking along a Roman aqueduct that is still in
use!It is just past Xanthos.

Make
Kalkan in a long day - 21 klms.Bus
from Akbel down to Kalkan (nothing worth seeing).

The next day walk to Patara (Gelemis) via Delikkemer.This is a fantastic walk,
mostly missed by those short of
time.I think it
was a real
highlight.You will
see how the
Romans made water run uphill at Delikkemer.Stay the night in any of the small family run pensions at
Gelemis,
explore the Patara ruins, and swim at the Patara beach.

Then
take a bus back to Kalkan (you might have to change
at Akbel).This is not a very interesting walk.

From
Kalkan take a bus to Kas (or 3 days walk).It would not be possible
to do this section without camping.

Kas
is another pretty tourist coastal village.From Kas you could walk backwards the Way to Phellos (We
very much liked
this, although others were disappointed).This
would be a full day walk return.

From
Kas, take a small boat over to Liman Agazi for a nice change (or you
can walk
too). Then walk to Ucagiz.To
do
this without camping is a long day.You would have to forego the boat ride so you can leave
Kas earlier!After you pass the ruins at Aperlae you will come to a
small isolated
restaurant on the opposite end of the peninsula.You can get the owner to run you over to Ucagiz in his
boat.Might as well as the walk isn't that exciting.Alternatively sleep on the roof of the restaurant (again
sleeping bag
& Thermarest needed).Don’t
worry, you won’t miss the restaurant – there are signs everywhere!TAKE PLENTY OF WATER ON THIS SECTION - AT LEAST 4 LITERS
EACH.It is very exposed initially, but very nice walking in the
last part.

You
can spend a couple of days at Ucagiz and take a boat tour to the sunken
city
(Kekova Island) and Simena – most impressive.Must see.Ucagiz
itself
isn't much.We have
kayaked this
region previously.

From
Ucagiz, take a bus to Myra (Kale).These
are famous ruins.

Take
the bus to Finike.You could
do this in one day from Ucagiz, whilst still seeing the Myra ruins.

We
really liked the Belos ruins (camped there).So if you want you can walk back from Finike.Finike is nothing much,
but you can feed and drink well.

The
next section from Finike to Adrasan via the Lighthouse is definitely
best done
with a camp at the Lighthouse.It
would be possible to walk it in a long day, preferably with an
overnight stop
for an early start from Karaoz, where you should find accommodation and
there is
a small store. Take
a bus from
Finike to Mavikent.This
is
just a 30 kilometer stretch of 4-lane highway – nothing.Don’t even think about walking it!The Lighthouse to Adrasan section is difficult.You will need plenty of water.There
may not be any at the Lighthouse.Adrasan
has accommodations, small stores, restaurants and refreshing swimming.

Or
take a bus from Finike to Olympos.Here
are excellent ruins.Great
swimming.Stay in a
"tree
house" but hideously commercialized.Cold
when we were there in October (again requires sleeping bag).You can go up to the Chimera (eternal flame) – best done
at night.

From
Olympos, take the bus to Antalya.Antalya
is a nice old city, but a bit daunting after the isolation of the Way.There is an excellent Museum there too.

TRANSPORT:

From
Istanbul to Fethyie there are (only) overnight buses.About 13 hours, clean, cheap and pretty comfortable.Otherwise fly to Dalaman.Likewise
Antalya to Istanbul.

Buses
are plentiful and cheap all over Turkey.Taxis
are reasonable options too.

Turks
don’t walk!So they
will stop and
offer you a lift especially off the beaten track.Hitching is OK.

THE
WAY BACK TO ISTANBUL:

If
you have time, a stopover at Ephesus on the way back to Istanbul is
worthwhile.
Hordes of tourists, but you can see why.
Stay at Selcuk nearby for an early start.
This is a very famous ancient city where parts of the
Christian Bible
were written.